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The Speak Up, Girl event celebrates Women's Month by discussing the issues that women face. Get the highlights of the empowering event HERE:

In old times, women were perceived as the weaker sex. There were limited opportunities for females to excel in their careers and had very few platforms to express themselves. And it also didn't help that society had set restrictive standards for women to follow, such as for them to be less opinionated and be more family-oriented and domesticated.

But obviously, times have changed and humanity as a whole is now more open-minded and enlightened about how men and women are equal.

However, this doesn't necessarily mean that women do not face difficulties anymore; there are still a lot of misconceptions, taboos, and other barriers or hindrances that women have to fight off.

So, in celebration of Women's Month, pH Care partnered with female artists Sara Black, Soleil Ignacio, and Winnie Wong a.k.a. Penelope Pop, to discuss these issues and also put a spotlight on them through beautiful and meaningful artworks.

Women in the workplace

One of the topics discussed during the panel discussion were the difficulties that women face in their careers.

Vlogger-artist Winnie Wong also works as a teacher and she shared that female teachers are not given the same opportunities as their male counterparts.

She narrates, “A lot of women teachers, they are just known to be teachers and it's hard for them to take administrator roles.

"You see that a lot in men. I don't know why there's this dynamic that the more administrator position would be for men and then there's no balance for an administration position for women.”

Winnie also added that looking young had been a disadvantage for her. She said, “If you look younger, you aren't as credible. So, I think one of the biggest struggles is that when I'm teaching, a lot of parents they always question my credibility. But I have my knowledge. I have my years of experience. Just because of my appearance, it doesn't make me less credible.”

Meanwhile, photographer Sara Black revealed that she was fortunate that being a woman didn't become a disadvantage for her although she's in a male-dominated field.

“It's not like that for everyone. A lot of women are getting paid less but doing more work in the corporate world. That's a sad reality. Historically, men have been given a lot more opportunities. That's just how it always has been. But it doesn't have to be like that moving forward.”

She then gave advice to career women: “I'd like to invite you all to shift your mindset and start looking at your femininity as your power, and not as a disadvantage. And once we shift that consciousness, and you step into the room and you're all powerful, you're just gonna magnetize all that good stuff your way.”

Feminists don't hate men

A common misconception that many people have about feminism is that it is about hating men, when it's just actually about fighting for equality, for women to enjoy the same opportunities that are often only given to men.

Sarah debunked this old notion by saying “It's really about, I think, more and more in the modern-day coming into this collaborative mindset. The masculine supports the feminine and the feminine supports the masculine.

"And at all points in time, both genders have both energies running through them, and to be able to look to the other gender for support in the things that we don't yet possess, and for them also to have an open mindset and look to the feminine for the qualities that they want to work on. There are a lot of things that men can learn from women and a lot of things that women can also learn from men. So, we love men.”

Women shouldn't be afraid to speak up

Artists are generally known for their brave, beautiful, and often unconventional ways of expressing themselves. So to inspire other women to be outspoken, artist-influencers Sara, Winnie, and Soleil shared the instances when they spoke out or stood their ground despite the fear of judgment or backlash.

Pinay illustrator Soleil Ignacio admits to not being good at expressing herself verbally, and that's why she makes her feelings and thoughts known through her artworks. And as a response to people who criticize her for having tattoos, she drew a tattooed up girl.

Soleil explained, “It's my way of saying it's okay to have your tattoos kasi I've been getting a lot of comments na parang 'oooh, you're skin looks so dirty.' It's not dirty. They're just tattoos. It's my way of saying 'You do you.' If you don't want tattoos, go ahead. Don't get tattoos.”

Photographer Sara Black, on the other hand, used her collection of nude portraits to enlighten her mother about the powerful message behind them.

Sara recounted, “I actually did an exhibit of nude portraits. I invited my mom to come to the exhibit and I didn't tell her what the content of the show was. So, when she came to the gallery, her jaw literally dropped to the floor and her mouth was wide open. She was so scandalized to see nude photographs taken by me.”

“So, she was literally on one of the chairs for ten minutes by herself. And then something amazing happened after the ten minutes that she had to really reflect. She came up to me and she said 'What you made was really powerful'. Because she saw embodied in that woman's nude portrait the fearless power that that woman had to face the camera in her full glory.

"And for my mom who was scandalized ten minutes ago to come into this immediate shift of consciousness, it just closed the generational gap. It was amazing. It was beautiful to witness.”

As for vlogger-artist Winnie Wong, she's never afraid to speak her mind, even if it meant losing followers.

She said, “I've actually spoken up a lot on Instagram. I don't think that I fear facing backlash. I have faced a lot of backlash. I've spoken up about abortion. It is a very tough topic here in the Philippines. My mom has told me several times, 'Don't speak up. You're gonna lose your followers.' and I'm like 'I don't care.' If I wanna speak up about a lot of things on my channel, about art (or) about body positivity, then I should be able to say what I feel in a very constructive manner.”

To which Sara firmly agreed by saying, “You can see the difference in our generation from our parent's generation where they tell you to hold back. And in our generation, it's like, 'No, we're gonna step into our power and we're gonna say what's on our mind because it feels authentic.”

The takeaway

Women should be free to speak their minds. They should not be held back by the fear of being judged or not taken seriously. Women's feelings and thoughts are just as valid as that of men's.

So, the next time you feel to urge to give your two cents about anything, do not hesitate. Speak up, girl!